Silver Spring, Maryland--Protecting children from trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation were some of the key issues highlighted at an anti-human trafficking forum held in Washington DC, September 16, with the participation of representatives from the U.S. Department of State, Department of Labor, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).

"No country, however poor, can disregard the education of its children," said Charlotte M. Ponticelli, Deputy Under Secretary for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor, explaining that poverty and insufficient educational opportunities can foster an environment where human trafficking is able to thrive.

To combat this problem, ADRA is focusing primarily on education to decrease children's vulnerability to the sex trade. In Thailand, where the relative prosperity of this nation has attracted migration from neighboring countries, although much of it illegal, northern hill tribe communities remain at high risk of exploitation because many of their residents lack legal residence. In the Chiang Rai province, ADRA is implementing the Keep Girls Safe project, a preventive initiative designed to provide girls between the ages of 7 and 21 access to education by assisting them with school fees, transportation costs, and school supplies. In special high-risk cases, ADRA also provides a safe living environment where girls receive shelter, food, clothing, medicines, and counseling. Presently, 110 girls are participating in this project, while 60 more are conducting peer education in their schools on the risks of trafficking and positive life skills. ADRA is also raising awareness about child trafficking in communities and schools in five area districts.d schools in five area districts.

In the Indian state of Uttar Pradresh at the Indo-Nepal border, ADRA is conducting an anti-trafficking campaign in eight districts. The project, called Stop Traffic, primarily targets cross-border migrants, particularly women and children migrating on their own or those forced to migrate due to poverty, conflict, or deception. The objective is to reduce the vulnerability of migrants to abuse, harassment, trafficking, and HIV/AIDS. At present, Stop Traffic is being implemented in the Badni- Siddarthnagar District, Uttar Pradesh state, and Jaya Nagar-Madhubani District, Bihar state. The project locations have been chosen based on the large influx of migrants through both the cross border locations and its proximity to road and rail transport hubs.

The Child Trafficking and Labor Preventative Programs Forum, sponsored by InterAction, a coalition of more than 150 humanitarian organizations of which ADRA is a founding member, focused on how governments and NGOs who are implementing anti-trafficking programs, such as ADRA, can tackle the thriving and growing transnational sex trade, which is subjecting approximately two million children around the world to widespread abuses, according to the 2008 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

Some 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders, a number that does not reflect the millions—primarily women and young girls—who are trafficked within countries. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), a U.N. agency that seeks to address labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, the monetary profits that this "industry" is generating are astronomical. In 2005 alone, sex traffickers earned as much as $217.8 billion often at the expense of young children, the most vulnerable victims of the sex supply chain.

"Trafficking turns people into mere commodities," said Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the Department of State, which coordinates U.S. Government efforts against modern-day slavery, including forced labor and sexual trafficking.

Today, human trafficking has varying forms, although they share a common denominator: migration for economic gain. In the sex tourism industry, a widespread and growing problem especially in many parts of Asia and Africa, a single prostituted child can be victimized by 100 to 1,500 perpetrator per year, according to the TIP Report, causing deep psychological trauma and physical ailments. Other types include forced domestic labor, a form of enslavement that can be difficult to detect because it happens in private homes; military enlisting of children, which targets children as young as 7-years-old; and debt bondage, a situation where employers impose excessive costs on laborers for working abroad.

"Poverty is not an excuse for exploitation," added Ponticelli, who outlined specific steps that governments and NGOs can pursue together to fight human trafficking, including strengthening policies and capacity of local governments to combat trafficking; raising awareness at the local, national, and international level; supporting research aimed at identifying human trafficking trends; reducing the vulnerability of children through education; encouraging reform in educational curricula; and ensuring long-term sustainability of these solutions.

ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race, or ethnicity.

Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org.

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Author: Hearly Mayr

Media Contact: John Torres, Senior Public Relations Manager ADRA International 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 Phone: 301.680.6357 E-mail: Media.Inquiries@adra.org